Page 15 - AfrElec Week 46 2021

AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec

Dutch FMO: financing, contracting

for Burkina Faso solar plants with

110MWp capacity finalised

BURKINA FASO DUTCH entrepreneurial development bank operational, will increase generation capacity in
FMO has announced that financing and con- Burkina Faso to 456 MW, of which 172 MW will
tracting has been finalised for the construction be from renewables. Sonabel is responsible for
and operation of four solar plants in Burkina the bulk of generation – and for all transmission
Faso that together can generate 110 MWp. and distribution – in the country’s power sector
Burkina Faso is among the poorest countries and will also be the off-taker for the electricity
in the world and only 20% of the population has generated by the four solar plants.
access to electricity. Currently, 85% of the coun- The new solar plants are financed under a
try’s grid is powered by diesel generators, with Public-Private Partnership between the govern-
the fuel imported from neighbouring Ghana ment of Burkina Faso and project developers
and Ivory Coast, contributing to high electricity Africa REN, GreenYellow and Qair, through
costs. MIHIA Holding, a 51%/49% investment vehi-
“FMO supports the construction of these cle between Qair and Stoa (the acronym stands
four solar plants to increase the electrification in for “Make It Happen In Africa”). The plants will
Burkina Faso in a sustainable way, lessening the be located near the cities of Nagréongo, Kodeni,
reliance on fossil fuels,” FMO chief investment Tenkodogo and Dédougou.
officer Huib-Jan de Ruijter said in a press release FMO’s financing will consist of four loans,
on Wednesday (November 17). between €14mn and €34mn per plant, with a
“At the same time, creating more access to total amount of €90mn. Co-financiers include
electricity helps reduce inequalities, allowing, for The Interact Climate Change Facility (ICCF)
example, studying at night and longer business with €21mn and Proparco with €15mn. The
hours. These projects rely on many parties being ICCF funding involves a syndication between
committed to the same impact goal, and we are Agence Française de Développement-AFD,
thankful for their partnerships,” he said. BIO, DEG, Finnfund, Norfund, OeEB, Proparco,
The government aims to substantially SIFEM and Swedfund.
increase electrification and supports the devel- The financing round illustrates the recent
opment of endogenous sources of electricity, “Team Europe” approach, which allows Euro-
including solar. In 2020, the total generation pean member states to work together more
capacity on Burkina Faso’s grid was 344 MW, of effectively to offer collective support to partner
which 60 MW was renewable energy generation. countries.™
The additional solar power plants, once

Week 46 18•November•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P15